I awake to the sound of my pounding heart. "Ugh. The nightmares are back." With a yawn, I sit up drowsily. My room is on the pub's second floor. It's pretty small. On one side is my bed and drawer, and on the other is a window that looks out at the Spine. Beside the window is a small sink and mirror. I make my way to the sink and splash water on myself from the pail beside it. My cold grey eyes look back at me in the mirror.

With a sigh, I go to get dressed. Since I'm going near the city today, I put on a black cloak that covers my green shirt and leather chest piece. I put a bracer on my right arm to cover the veins and tie my bangs back so my red streak can't be seen from under my hood. Last but not least, I swing my sword over my shoulder. I look at myself in the small mirror and nod. Inconspicuous. Perfect.

I head downstairs, tell the owner I'll be back later, and then step outside. Atlas is so different in the day when compared to the night. The streets are full of people milling about. On every corner are pop-up shops that sell anything from jewelry to weapons to food. Usually, I would take a look at every shop I come across, but I'm on a timer. I push my way through the crowds of people and head inland to the edge of the city. Every now and then, I can see the fifty to sixty tall airship hangers scattered around the city, the all-glass walls shimmering in the sun. Above, airships of all shapes and sizes glide through the sky. Coming and going between Calypso and Atlas.

If the airships could go up and down, they might actually be worth the ridiculous price for the passenger classes. As of now, though, they can only go straight. Well, except for the military class ships. Even from here, I can see the P-cores that line the bottom of the ships to keep them afloat. Not too far away, the massive skyscrapers dominate the sky. The sun reflects off the glass, making the entire Spine glitter. Imagine if one of those fell. I shudder at the thought.

It takes about an hour to reach the city outskirts. The farther from the coast I get, the less populated the city becomes. Eventually, I reach the cut-off point. Calypso and Atlas aren't allowed to build past a certain mark inland. That's called the cut-off point. The reason is the large hill that separates the flatlands and the coast. However, mountain might be a better term.

It also expands out of sight both ways. It gradually gets higher, about two miles from the city, until it reaches three hundred feet tall. At the top of the hill, it extends past in a hangover. That's why it's called the shelf. I look up at it. There are only two ways out, airship or the single train that runs from Calypso to Igneous.

With a sigh, I head for the shelf. Between Calypso and Atlas is a crater. That crater was used as Calypso's endpoint and Atlas's start point. Though at some point, Calypso overtook some of Atlas, causing the crater to become part of Calypso. It's in the no man's land between the shelf and the two cities and is also where one of the best blacksmiths in all of Calypso lives. The only problem is that it's a several-hour walk if I don't go through Calypso. Which I don't. " Stupid blacksmiths and their stupid secluded areas," I grumble. I should pick up the pace before those three weirdos come and drag me with them.

**************

By the time I reach the crater, the sun is high in the sky. Deep under the shelf, I can see the single beam of light that cuts through the darkness to reveal the glittering crater. Several hundred yards in circumference and roughly seventy feet deep. Filing the crater are these white-leaved trees that seem to twinkle in the sunlight. A hole in the shelf can be seen high above, probably made by the meteor that crashed below. It would look almost like a fairytale if it weren't for the large plume of smoke coming from the middle. The blacksmith must be hard at work.

It takes me a few minutes to get to the entrance. A small road that cuts through the trees connects the isolated house in the middle of the crater to the outside world. As I step onto the road, someone shouts after me.

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"Why if it isn't Silen? I thought you were supposed to come tomorrow." Behind me, some strange... thing rolls up. It's a square metal box with the top cut off. Four wheels protruded out the side, and a tall white man is inside. He has brown eyes and long black hair tied back in a ponytail. His stubby nose and bushy eyebrows give him a peculiar look. He's dressed in a black tuxedo.

"Simon? What are you doing back so early? And what the hell is this thing?" I knock on the metal, and it gives a hollow sound.

Simon smiles and opens the door on the side, waving me in, "This is the Corage." I raise my eyebrows and climb in. Two pedals are on Simons's side. Several gauges line up in front of him, the arrows moving up and down. A circular handle sits in front of Simon.

He waves his hand over the metal box, "This is truly an invention for the ages. It uses Planetary cores as its power source." He points at three different colored squares in the center of the car about the size of a fist: one red, one yellow, and one blue. Planetary cores, huh? Those are the rocks dug out of the Finsal mountains that hold elements in them that can be used as power sources. If I remember correctly, the airships use air cores to float and flame cores as propulsion. They're also conveniently color-coded. Red being fire, yellow electricity, and so on. If only Neo cores were color-coded.

Simon opens his mouth, and I can tell he's about to go on one of his tangents. as one of the leading engineers in P-core development, you'd think he'd get tired of talking about them all the time.

"Simon, I don't have time for your lessons today," I say sternly. Simon flinches and nods.

"Right, sorry. I forgot you're a brisk one." He smiles at me, though with less enthusiasm than usual, "Let's get this show on the road." Simon then presses the right pedal, and we lurch forward.

I feel myself tense up but remain silent. It truly is a fantastic invention. To think that you no longer have to walk everywhere with this thing. As we roll down the road, I stare at the white-leaved trees surrounding us. Apparently, the wood from these trees is said to be stronger than iron. It would explain why the trees haven't been cut down yet. Beside me, I can tell that Simon is almost bursting at the seams. It seems he really wants to talk. Too bad I don't have time today. P-cores really are an interesting topic.

It only takes us a minute or two to reach the clearing in the center of the small forest. A large two-story house sits in the middle. It's made of the same ash-colored wood that surrounds us. To the left is a small building with a large opening at the top. Black smoke spills out into the air above. As we get closer, the corage speeds up. I look at Simon, and he seems to be panicking.

"Any reason we're not stopping?" I ask.

He nervously chuckles, "I might have forgotten to add the brakes." Wow. Can't say I'm surprised. Guy has a one-track mind when it comes to his inventions.

With a sigh, I hop out of the moving deathtrap, "Have fun dealing with Gabby when she sees the mess you're about to make." Simon's face pales as he rides away. As I approach the house, two children run up to greet me. One is a small girl, around four. She has black hair and blue eyes with plump, rosy cheeks. Her big eyes sparkle with curiosity and happiness. I think her name was Sarah?

The other child is named Sid. He also has black hair and blue eyes but looks like a miniature version of Simon. He's around eight. Behind them, I can see Simon bail out of his metal contraption, yelling as it continues to roll away into the forest.

They both give me a beaming smile, "Are you gonna show us your sword skills again?" Sid asks excitedly.

Sarah pouts, "No, I wanna talk about Plan- Platary cores."

Sid groans, "Come on, Sarah, we have dad for that."

"But Daddy is boring when he talks about them." I let out a little chuckle as they squabble. Kinda reminds me of my brother and me.

I pat them on the head, "Sorry, kids, I'm strictly here on business."

"Aw." they both say, disappointed. With that, I head to the small shop beside the house. Inside I can hear the blacksmith banging away.

I knock, and the banging stops, "The fuck you want, Simon? I thought I told you not to bother me when you return."

I open the door, "It's Silen." As I say this, a hammer flies past my head, causing me to flinch.

"You think I give a shit? Get your ass out of my fucking forge." I don't even have time to explain before another hammer comes flying at me. Without a second thought, I slam the door and hear a thud as the hammer hits the wood. "You'll come in when I tell you. Now, wait outside while I finish this. Impatient bastard."

I sigh as I plop down beside the door. Why is she only like this when she's in her forge? Outside of it, I'd almost call her timid. "Oh well. Guess all I can do is wait."